Class members in Labrador residential school actions discuss $50 million settlement

St. John’s, NL (July 16, 2016) – Members of the Labrador residential school class actions are meeting with their lawyers this morning to discuss the proposed $50 million federal government settlement. Lawyers are answering questions about legal fees, class members’ right to object, and individual compensation payments.

The Government of Canada and survivors of Newfoundland and Labrador residential schools reached a class action settlement worth over $50 million, subject to court approval, in May of this year. The federal government will pay $50 million into a compensation fund and has agreed to pay an additional amount for healing and commemoration.

Class counsel, including Steven Cooper of Ahlstrom Wright Oliver & Cooper LLP in Sherwood Park, Alberta, and Ches Crosbie from Patient Injury Law in St. John’s offer: “We’ve had large turnouts at our meetings and class members are generally very pleased with the result of the class action.”

Lawyers have held meetings in Goose Bay and along the Labrador coast to explain the settlement and make people aware of their legal rights. Meetings have also been held in Ottawa, Edmonton, and soon in Halifax.

Lawyers will apply to the Supreme Court in St. John’s on September 27 for approval of the settlement and of proposed legal fees. If the settlement is approved, class members will receive compensation related to the duration of their attendance at residential school and the level of harm suffered. Proposed distribution of compensation will be less complex and time-consuming than previous residential school-related settlements to ensure that aging survivors receive compensation as quickly and easily as possible. Class members can expect to receive compensation within a year of the settlement being approved.